Event
ISR Microsystems Seminar: David Erickson, "Optofluidics for Nanomanipulation and Renewable Energy"
Thursday, April 5, 2012
3:00 p.m.
1146 A.V. Williams Building
Ian White
301 405 6230
ianwhite@umd.edu
ISR Microsystems Seminar Series
Handling the Very Big and Very Small: Optofluidics for Nanomanipulation and Renewable Energy
David Erickson
Cornell University
| video to come |
Host
Ian White
Abstract
Optofluidics enables the precise control over fluids and optics at micro- and nano-scales. Over the past 5 years, the scientific successes in this area have led to the development of many new technologies including tunable dye lasers, precise biosensors, and ultracompact microscopes. In this talk I will discuss some new opportunities to which this same skill set can be applied. In particular I will focus on applications at the smallest of scales (nanomanipulation and single molecule analysis) and the largest of scales (photosynthetic fuel production). The impact that optofluidics can have in these fields will be discussed as well as the challenges that must be overcome to realize them. A particular focus will be placed on how to upscale optofluidic technology to address global scale challenges like renewable energy.
Biography
Prof. David Erickson is an Associate Professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University where he directs the Integrated Micro- and Nanofluidic Systems Laboratory. Prior to joining the faculty in September 2005, Dr. Erickson was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology (2004-2005) and he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto in 2004. He is currently an associate editor of the Journal of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Research in the Erickson lab is primarily funded through grants from the NSF, NIH, AFOSR, ONR, DOE and DARPA. Prof. Erickson is the Co-Founder of Optofluidics, Inc. which is focused on commercializing single molecule instrumentation and traumatic injury diagnostics. In recent years, Dr. Erickson has received the DARPA-MTO Young Faculty Award (2007), the NSF CAREER Award (2009), and the Department of Energy Early Career Award (2010). In 2011 he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers, PECASE, by President Obama.
